The FTSE 100 made a strong start to a week set to be dominated by Brexit negotiations as Brexit secretary David Davis started the second round of talks with the EU's Michel Barnier.

Brexit aside, Carolyn McCall, the EasyJet boss, will join ITV as chief executive. McCall, who begins her new role in January 2018, had been the front runner to secure the broadcaster's vacant top job after Adam Crozier stepped down at the end of June.

Meanwhile growth in China, the world's second-largest economy, stayed at an annual rate of 6.9 per cent, outperforming expectations for the second quarter in a row.

Carolyn McCall, the EasyJet boss, will join ITV as chief executive next January

Claire Heffron

Host commentator

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17:25

FTSE Close

London's top-flight index pushed higher on Monday after bright news on the Chinese economy gave a boost to blue-chip mining stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index rose 25.74 points to 7404.13, as the Far East nation secured better-than-expected economic growth of 6.9 per cent in the second quarter, while industrial production outstripped forecasts and retail sales jumped 11 per cent year-on-year.

Shares in Chilean miner Antofagasta rose more than two per cent, or 19.5p to 878p, as investors expect a strong performance from the Chinese economy will mean the country's healthy appetite for resources will continue.

Copper miner Glencore was also up 4.7p to 320.8p, and Anglo American stepped up by 13.5p to 1.130.5p.

Across Europe, Germany's Dax was down 0.4 per cent and the Cac 40 in France was 0.1 per cent lower.

On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.3 per cent versus the US dollar at 1.305, as Britain's Brexit secretary David Davis returned to the negotiating table in Brussels for the second round of talks with the European Commission's chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

Sterling was also 0.3 per cent down against the euro at 1.138.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said the pound would 'jump back into the spotlight' on Tuesday as the latest update on UK inflation is published.

He said: 'Analysts are expecting the figure to remain unchanged at a still eye-watering 2.9 per cent, though it's worth noting that the number has outperformed forecasts for the last four months in a row.'

The price of oil was charging ahead, but was unable to break through the 50 US dollar mark following a slowdown in the oil rig count across the United States.

The positive update from China also supported Brent crude, which rose 1.5 per cent before paring gains to climb 0.9 per cent to 48.84 US dollars a barrel.

Announcing the appointment, Sir Philip said: 'On behalf of the Taveta board, I would like to thank Lord Grabiner for his 15 years' service and to wish him well for the future.

'I am delighted to announce that Baroness Karren Brady will be appointed as non-executive chairman.

'Baroness Brady joined the Taveta board as a non-executive director in September 2010 and will assume the role immediately."

Brady is the chief executive of West Ham United football club and an adviser to Lord Alan Sugar on the BBC reality show The Apprentice.

She was given a peerage by former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Brady was made a Tory peer by David Cameron in 2014 and previously served as managing director of Brimingham City Football Club, then as vice chair at West Ham, earning the nickname 'The first lady of football'

15:06

US stocks unmoved, results seasons in full swing

US stocks opened little changed and held steady at record levels as investors turned their focus to a busy earnings week from big US companies.

Microsoft, IBM and Johnson and Johnson are scheduled to report results this week.

Netflix, which will report results after the market close, rose 0.8 per cent in early trading.

Analysts estimate second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 companies rose 8.1 per cent from a year earlier.

First-quarter earnings posted their best performance since 2011.

Earnings will be closely watched to see if high valuations are justified in the face of tepid inflation and a recent patch of mixed economic data.

The S&P has been trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, compared with the long-term average of 15 times.

In early deals the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 6.09 points at 21,631.65, the S&P 500 was down 0.37 points at 2,458.90 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 3.02 points at 6,315.48.

The financial sector led the laggards with a 0.43 per cent fall after results and forecasts on Friday by big banks such as JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo failed to excite investors.

Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs will report results later this week.

The Dow and the S&P hit record highs on Friday after weak economic data dulled prospects of more interest rate hikes this year.

Last week, investor sentiment got a boost after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said future rate hikes could be gradual in the face of persistently low inflation.

The Fed will meet next on July 25-26.

Shares of BlackRock fell 3 per cent after the world's biggest asset manager's quarterly profit came in below expectations.

General Cable jumped 7.2 per cent after the cable manufacturer announced on Sunday a review of strategic alternatives that could include a potential sale of the company.

12:18

House price rises will be limited as costs bite, warns Rightmove

The property website revealed today that house price rises over the next few years will be muted as ‘buyers will struggle to pay much more’.

Asking prices of newly-listed homes for sale flat-lined in the month to mid-July, but home buyers are cautious on political uncertainty and wage growth falling behind inflation.

Across Europe, Germany's DAX was down 0.3 per cent and the CAC 40 in France was flat.

On the currency markets, the pound drifted 0.2 per cent lower versus the dollar at $1.307.

The price of oil was charging ahead, but was unable to break through the $50 per barrel mark following a slowdown in the oil rig count across the United States.

Bright news on the Chinese economy also supported Brent crude, which rose 1.5 per cent to $49.16 a barrel.

11:52

And the risers, FTSE 100 up 43 points at 7,421.9

11:51

Here are the fallers this session

11:49

The criminal trial of four former Barclays executives - including John Varley - is set for January 2019

The trial of Barclays and four former top executives charged with fraud over undisclosed payments to Qatari investors as part of a £12billion pound emergency fundraising during the 2008 financial crisis has been set for January 2019, a judge said.

The Serious Fraud Office last month charged Barclays, John Varley, Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation when they negotiated a capital injection for the bank from Qatar.

11:43

Commodity stocks enjoying themselves this session, thanks to China

Data released overnight from China has boosted Anglo American and Glencore since the open with the mining stocks both sitting on gains of approximately 2 per cent.

The latest GDP figures from Beijing show an annualised rise of 6.9 per cent, which was inline with the previous reading and slightly better than consensus forecasts.

Whilst there remains a high degree of skepticism over the accuracy of data points from the Far East, the initial reaction has been positive and attracted buyers into London-listed stocks with exposure to China.

11:15

Here's Carolyn McCall's bio

McCall will become the broadcaster's first female chief executive, and one of the most powerful female FTSE 100 bosses.

She spent seven years as chief executive of budget airline EasyJet. Prior to that, she held the top job at the Guardian Media Group.

A graduate of Kent University, the businesswoman holds a BA in History and Politics and a Masters in Politics from London University.

Brought up in India and Singapore, she now lives in Berkhamsted with her husband Peter and their three children.

At EasyJet, Ms McCall has overseen a period of steady growth, with the firm's share price trebling under her leadership.

McCall, 55, has been a non-executive director of British fashion brand Burberry since 2014. In addition, she has held non-executive director roles with Lloyds TSB, Tesco and New Look.

She also sits on the board of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is a trustee at the Royal Academy.

Last year, McCall was awarded a damehood in the New Year's Honour's List for services to the aviation industry.

That same year saw her decorated with France's highest merit, the Legion d'honneur in recognition of her efforts in delivering significant economic and industrial benefits to France and the UK.

She was awarded an OBE for services to women in business in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Earlier that year, she was named Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year.

McCall was also chair of Opportunity Now for four years from 2005, and is a former President of Women in Advertising and Communications London.

11:10

3i announces sale of Mémora generating proceeds of £117million

3i has sold Mémora, the leading Iberian funeral services company, to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan.

Mémora was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Barcelona. It is the leading funeral services player in the Iberian market, with a total of 115 parlours, 24 crematoriums, 13 cemeteries and 91 retail outlets in the Iberian Peninsula.

It has a leading position in Barcelona as well as in other regional markets in Spain and Portugal, and a strong foothold across its remaining markets.

Wimbledon legend Boris Becker lost a huge part of his £100million fortune in dubious investments in Nigerian oil firms, it has been claimed.

German news magazine Der Spiegel – citing documents from soccer whistleblowing platform Football Leaks – said Becker struck the deal in 2013, which contributed to his recent bankruptcy. Spiegel said the ‘mega-deal’ was brokered by a Canadian firm and a Nigerian employee of Becker, pictured.

It said documents show that in July 2013 Becker held shares in an oil and petrol firm in Nigeria. But the investments tanked and last month he was declared bankrupt. John Briggs, Becker’s lawyer, told the London court: ‘He is not a sophisticated individual when it comes to finances.’

Becker, now 49, was once estimated to be worth upwards of £100million. He was declared bankrupt over undisclosed sums owed to London-based private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co since 2015.

Conviviality chief executive Diana Hunter said: 'I am pleased to report a strong set of results that demonstrate our focus and commitment to serving our customers well, working in partnership with our suppliers and delivering against our strategic plans.

'The balance we have created across the enlarged group, and resilience this creates, gives us confidence in the future success of the business.'

The company has also undergone a restructure, creating three separate business units - Conviviality Direct, Conviviality Retail and Conviviality Trading - which the firm also flagged as contributing to the strong results.

09:34

Property market is over EU referendum shock claims Rightmove

Portal says its figures show 4.6 per cent more agreed sales last month compared to a year ago

Would-be home buyers are encountering more ‘sold’ boards slapped on properties than at any other time in the last seven years.

09:32

Preppy fashion chain JackWills is back in profit

Preppy fashion retailer JackWills is back in the black after surviving an expensive outsourcing fiasco.

A costly move three years ago to hand over distribution to a warehouse in Greenford, west London, caused problems during the vital Christmas period and led to heavy losses.

Co-founder Peter Williams, who stepped down in 2012 but returned to lead it during 2015 with private equity firm Bluegem, said momentum had now ‘very much returned to the business’.

The 43-year-old added: 'I returned to the helm of Jack Wills with a clear strategy to evolve the brand and return it to profitability, and we are making evident progress on this journey.'

The company posted profits of £730,000 for the year to January 27.

Sales were also up more than 4 per cent, reaching £142.4million.

Economics graduate Williams set up Jack Wills in 1999 along with business partner Robert Shaw, and focused on university towns.

The group now has 86 stores, including 71 in the UK, seven in the US, five in Hong Kong, two in Singapore and one in Macau.

It has plans to open ten this year, with one already operating in Germany.

After a pessimistic end to last year there is reason to be a lot more confident.

It’s leaner after the collapse in oil prices and the tough cost-cutting is bearing fruit.

09:14

Michel Barnier and David Davis to meet for the second time

Brexit Secretary David Davis has said talks on the 'substance' of EU withdrawal are now under way as a fresh round of negotiations began in Brussels.

The European Commission's chief negotiator Michel Barnier offered Davis a 'warm welcome' as the pair met ahead of intensive talks which he said would 'delve into the heart of the matter'.

Davis said: 'We are now getting into the substance of the matter.

'It's four categories really. The issue of citizens' rights, the issue of finance, the issue of separation issues and, of course, separately, Northern Ireland.

'For us it's incredibly important we now make good progress. That we negotiate through this and identify the differences, so that we can deal with them, and identify the similarities so that we can move forward.

'And now it's time to get down to work and make this a successful negotiation.'

Barnier said: 'I look forward to our negotiations this week. We'll now delve into the heart of the matter.

'We need to examine and compare our respective positions in order to make good progress.

'As you know, our negotiating groups will work on citizens' rights, on the financial settlement and other separation issues.

'David and I will be in contact throughout the week. Rendezvous to take stock together on Thursday.'

The FCA will look at investment platforms used by consumers and financial advisers to assess whether competition between them is working in the interest of consumers.

The regulator pointed out that the platform market has grown rapidly over the last eight years, with assets under administration (AUA) for both adviser and direct platforms increasing from £108billion in 2008 to £500billion in 2016.

As part of its probe, the FCA will explore whether platforms help investors make good investment decisions, if they offer investors value for money and ascertain whether the relationships between various platforms work in the interests of investors.

Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: 'With the increasing use of platforms, and the issues raised by our previous work, we want to assess whether competition between platforms is working in the interest of consumers.

'Platforms have the potential to generate significant benefits for consumers and we want to ensure consumers are receiving these benefits in practice.'

08:29

Carillion shares up 6 per cent after contract wins

After a shocker last week, it was better news for Carillion this morning after winning a pair of HS2 contracts worth £1.4billion as part of its CEK joint venture with Eiffage and Kier.

The stock rose 6.5 per cent on the open – a healthy move normally but small fry when measured against last week’s 71 per cent fall.

This ought to help it share price but whether it can deliver these contracts is another matter.

08:22

China maintains it rapid rate of growth

London kicked off in a good mood, boosted by a wave of data from China.

Overnight there was a quartet of important Chinese figures, led by a better than expected 6.9 per cent GDP reading.

That was joined by a far stronger than forecast industrial production number, an 11 per cent increase in retail sales year-on-year and solid fixed asset investment figure.

Understandably the FTSE’s commodity stocks were pretty pleased with the outcome of all this, allowing the UK index itself to climb.

McCall, who begins her new role in January 2018, had been the front runner to secure the broadcaster's vacant top job after Adam Crozier stepped down at the end of June.

She will receive an annual salary of £900,000 and a pension allowance of 15 per cent of salary, as well as being eligible for a bonus plan up to a maximum of 180 per cent of salary, and a long-term incentive plan up to 265 per cent of salary.

ITV described it as 'broadly the same remuneration opportunity' to Crozier's.

McCall will also receive awards to compensate for remuneration arrangements forfeited on leaving EasyJet.

She has headed up the low-cost airline since 2010, prior to which she was chief executive of Guardian Media Group.

She said: 'I'm really pleased to be joining ITV. It is a fantastic company in a dynamic and stimulating sector.

'I am looking forward to getting to know all of the people at ITV and helping it make the most of the amazing opportunities that it has in the future.'

McCall has also been a non-executive director of Burberry since 2014 and sits on the board of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is a Trustee at the Royal Academy.

Peter Bazalgette, chairman of ITV, said: 'In a very impressive field of high calibre candidates, Carolyn stood out for her track record in media, experience of an international operation, clear strategic acumen and strong record of delivering value to shareholders. I'm delighted we'll be working together at ITV.'

Easyjet shares slid close to 1 per cent on the open and ITV rose 2 per cent - a mark of the respect shown by investors and a signal that she’s likely to be a steady hand on the ship for ITV as it too faces its own problems with cord cutters, falling ad revenues and the chase for content.